


Don't paint me black when I used to be golden

by RelentlassHuggerSquad



Series: The Story so Far [2]
Category: Professional Wrestling, WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Enemies to Friends, F/F, F/M, Gen, Liv Needs A Hug, Ruby Needs A Hug, Teenage Drama, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:41:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22821157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RelentlassHuggerSquad/pseuds/RelentlassHuggerSquad
Summary: Liv Morgan is a kid from the wrong side of the tracks, popular but not for the right reasons, and desperate for an actual connection. She has to start getting her grades up or she is going to fail. Enter Ruby Riott, who just wants to keep to herself and get through high school without any real attachments, but as a favor is now forced to tutor Liv. Both of them have troubled home lives and are a lot more alike then they think. Can a friendship blossom or are they doomed to be star-crossed frienemies?(Set in the same universe as Take Me As You Please. The two stories run simultaneously and may feature a few crossovers, mainly from Charlotte going between them both)
Relationships: Liv Morgan/Ruby Riot | Heidi Lovelace, Sarah Bridges | Crazy Mary Dobson/Liv Morgan/Ruby Riot | Heidi Lovelace, Sarah Bridges | Crazy Mary Dobson/Rowe | Erik
Series: The Story so Far [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1640464
Comments: 49
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LiteratureLocker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiteratureLocker/gifts).



“You’ve got to be kidding me, an ‘F’?” Liv Morgan frowned as she stared down at her history paper and then scowled back up at her teacher. “Ms. McCool this isn’t fair, I studied my butt off for this exam. How did I get an ‘F’?” Liv questioned, ignoring the other students as they filed out of the classroom as school let out for the day.

Learning and education had never been particularly easy for Liv, it was more of an obligation than anything else. Her school was the one place she got to visit her friends, but she hated how dumb it made her feel. The glaring red marks on her test paper weren’t helping with her feeling of self-worth either. If anything it only made her hate her seventh-period class even more. Having story as her last class should have filled Liv with relief, but now seeing her test all it did was make Liv want to cry.

“You must not have studied that hard.” Liv’s teacher Ms. McCool replied, giving Liv a stern look as the student approached her desk. “Did you really put your full effort into it or did you just guess on all the answers?”

Liv gritted her teeth and shook her head. “I didn't just guess, I studied all weekend. I even missed Charlotte Flair’s party to study. You know I don’t miss out on parties for just anything.” 

The teacher sighed and stared down at Liv’s paper before looking back at the teenager. “Alright I’m going to make you a deal, I’ve talked to you other teachers and they tell me you aren’t passing many of their classes either. I’m going to find you a tutor, and I want you to spend an hour every day after school, studying and getting your homework done.” 

Liv’s jaw dropped and she crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t need a tutor. What I need is for these stupid tests to stop being so hard. I am not dumb.” 

Ms. McCool sighed, no doubt wondering why she had become a teacher in the first place. “Look try the tutoring thing for a couple of weeks and if you have improved your grades than you don’t have to do it anymore.” 

“Fine, but let it be known I think this is a stupid idea.” Liv snapped, before grabbing her ratty old backpack and walking out of the classroom. 

She didn’t like the idea that the potential student-tutor would think she was dumb. Most of the kids in her school thought Liv was funny, and maybe she was popular because she could drink them under the table, or because legend had it that she’d never say no to a good dare. Liv didn’t have much but she cherished her popularity, she liked being good at something, even if it was sort of shallow.

When Liv was at school she felt on top of the world, being at home was a different story. She was the youngest of seven kids, living in an apartment where more often then not her mom was at work. If her mom was at home, then she was sleeping and the kids were supposed to be quiet. Most of Liv's older siblings had dropped out of high school to get jobs to help support the family, Liv herself volunteered sometimes at the corner grocery store stocking shelves so that she could earn some extra cash. 

It didn't help that her apartment was on the wrong side of the tracks. Liv normally had to take a bus to school and now that she had to stay behind to get tutoring, most likely she was going to have to walk the hour home. She wasn't looking forward to that either. 

Slamming her books into her locker, Liv's best friend Sarah Logan walked over. "Hey Sarah, did you ditch Rowe?" Liv asked in reference to Sarah's boyfriend Raymond Rowe, who played on the football team. Sarah and Rowe were also from the wrong side of the tracks, but since Rowe was great at football people tended to leave him and Sarah alone. 

Sarah laughed and shrugged. "He had a team meeting, do you want to sit next to each other on the bus?" Sarah offered. 

Liv sighed and let her forehead fall against her locker. "I can't catch the bus today, I got tutoring." 

"Who are you supposed to be studying with?" Sarah asked, a puzzled expression crossing her features. She very rarely had ever seen Liv crack open a book. 

"I don't know. McCool says I need to go to the library. I'll just catch up with you later." Liv said reluctantly. She shut her locker door and lightly bumped shoulders with Sarah before heading to the library. 

\-----

“Can you cover for me please, it’s fourteen bucks an hour to tutor, it’s not a bad gig. Plus you do owe me that favor, so please Ruby?”

Ruby Riott found herself staring into the pleading eyes of Charlotte Flair and sighed exasperatedly. It wasn’t like Ruby to say no, admittedly she could be a little bit of a pushover, especially when it came to Charlotte. When the statuesque blonde had transferred a year ago during the middle of Ruby’s sophomore year, she had immediately set out to befriend Ruby. 

Which when most people saw them together, they were confused. Charlotte was tall, blonde, popular and an athlete, she should have been out of Ruby’s social circle range. Ruby preferred blending into the shadows, finding comfort in music and her books rather than being sociable. Where Charlotte was genetically gifted looking like a supermodel, Ruby felt short and awkward. Yet Charlotte never made snide or catty comments, instead, she consistently called out the golden qualities that Ruby possed. The duo had a few shared interests, but they made for quite the odd friendship.

“Fine, I’ll tutor the poor kid. But I’m only doing this because I need the money.” Ruby said, shaking her head. Ruby was actually really good at her studies, the junior actually had a relatively high GPA and was friends with most of the teachers. 

Charlotte gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you, Ruby. You are the best!!” Charlotte gave her shorter friends a big hug, before handing over a sticky note with the info. “It’s Liv Morgan, she’s the one who needs help.” 

“The airhead?” Ruby asked arching a brow. Liv was a year younger than her and Charlotte but was notorious for being a bit dimwitted sometimes. 

“You can’t call her that when you’re tutoring her. Look I really got to go if I am going to make it in time to see my dad before he leaves on his business trip.” Charlotte gave her one last hug, before leaving Ruby to make her way to the library by herself. 

Pulling out her phone she shot a text message to her parents to let them know that she was going to be a little late. When she walked into the library she found Liv sitting at a corner table, texting on her phone. 

“Hey, so you’re here for tutoring right?” Ruby asked, trying to force herself to be friendly. She didn’t want to be rude to Liv. 

“The librarian told me Charlotte was going to be tutoring me,” Liv interjected sound somewhat disappointed. She had been hopeful when she found out that Charlotte was one the one who was going to tutor her. Liv had her fair share of run-ins with the other blonde since they knew some of the same popular people. 

A tight smile filtered across Ruby’s face. “Well, Charlotte had some family stuff to take care of. So you’re stuck with me, but I assure you that I am more than qualified.” 

Liv rolled her eyes. “Great, this is just my luck.” 

“Excuse me?” Ruby asked, arching a brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I failed my history test, I need Charlotte to help me, not a wannabe Hayley Williams.” Liv snapped, the frustration of the day getting to her. “Do you even go here anymore? You look like a narc. No offense”

Ruby took a moment to calm herself, she could feel her blood starting to boil. "Just because you say no offense, doesn't take away the offense. I have been going to the same school as you for years, you'd know that if you ever paid attention for more then a minute in class. I’m actually a year older than you, and I’ve passed the class you’re clearly failing with flying colors.” Ruby replied, her tone clipped. 

“Well, that’s because you’re a suck-up and a teacher’s pet.” Liv retorted smugly, unable to stop digging the proverbial hole. 

Ruby’s eyes darkened. “You would know a thing or two about being a suck-up wouldn’t you?” Even as the words left her mouth, Ruby could see Liv flinch. She felt guilty for saying it, an apology already making its way to her lips, when Liv slammed a hand down on the table hard enough to gain the attention of the librarian. 

“What is that supposed to mean? You know what, screw you. You don’t know a thing about me, you’re just a condescending dickhead like the rest of them. Just so you’re aware sitting on the sidelines of life and being anti-establishment doesn’t make you cool. It makes you just another freak who slut-shames people because it makes her feel good about herself.” Liv spat, grabbing her backpack, unintentionally leaving her failed test behind as she stormed out. 

Scoffing Ruby grabbed the paper and was about to yell at the blonde for leaving it behind but Liv was already gone. “So much for making money off of this, it isn’t worth it,” Ruby muttered, already dreading the fact that she was going to have to tell Charlotte about what had gone down. 

She stuffed Liv’s test in her backpack and walked to the student parking lot. The whole thing with the blonde had gotten her angry, but she tried to let it roll off her back. Ruby needed to get home anyway and help her mom with dinner, she had a feeling her dad hadn’t really moved from his hospital bed in the living room. He had been struggling with managing his pain recently and all Ruby wanted to do was curl up next to her dad until they both felt better. Charlotte wasn’t the only one who was going to disapprove of how she handled the Liv-situation, but no-doubt her dad would have a suggestion on how to fix it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlotte encourages Ruby and Liv to work things out after the whole insult debacle.

“Can you give this to Liv please.” Ruby pleaded all but shoving the test paper into Charlotte’s face. 

The popular blonde didn’t look exactly thrilled with having a piece of paper thrown into her face when she was trying to eat her breakfast. Charlotte usually used her mornings at school to get herself into the zone for school, but it appeared Ruby was going to be interrupting her alone time. 

“Good morning to you as well Prange,” Charlotte replied, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips when she saw Ruby shrug at the use of her real name. There was a reason people at the school called Ruby by her nickname. 

“I’m sorry, I know you’re busy but can you give it to her. I would rather not have to see or deal with her today.” Ruby muttered offering the paper again in a gentler way. 

Charlotte slowly raised a brow and tilted her head to the side. “What happened?”

Ruby let out a heavy sigh and plopped down in the seat across from Charlotte. Thankfully since they were both early to school there weren't a lot of students around yet. “Well, it all started with her calling me a Hayley Williams wanna be.” Ruby began, cringing as she thought about the insults that had flown between her and Liv. 

“I suppose I could see why she’d say that, but you really don’t look like Hayley,” Charlotte replied, before gesturing for Ruby to continue. “What happened after that.” 

Ruby’s cheeks began to heat up, shame welling up inside of her. “It escalated she called me a narc, a teacher’s pet, and told me that I was just a suck-up. So I may have said that she knows a thing or two about being a suck-up given her reputation.” 

Charlotte’s eyes narrowed and she gave Ruby a disapproving look. “It wasn’t cool of Liv to say the things that she did, but it wasn’t cool of you to say that about her either. You both owe each other an apology.” Charlotte said crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Well you’re back now and you can tutor her. You don’t need me to do it.” Ruby pointed out, hating that she had upset Charlotte. Ruby could try as much as she wanted to say that being a loner suited her, but there was a piece of the teenager that longed for companionship. The guilt that she felt inside, ached in a very uncomfortable way. 

“You still owe her an apology,” Charlotte said, shaking her head. “You’re better than playground insults Ruby. I know Liv has a reputation but you don’t get to judge her, I expected better from you.” 

Ruby buried her face in her hands again, she wasn’t even sure why she had let Liv get under her skin in the first place. “I’ll apologize,” Ruby said, wondering how she was going to get Liv alone. Trying to have that conversation in the crowded halls and in front of Liv’s crew was not going to go well at all. 

“Well here is your chance,” Charlotte said as she spotted Liv walking across the campus. She called out to the shorter blonde, watching with interest as Liv turned and started making her way towards them. When Liv got close enough to see Ruby she stopped and scowled. 

“What is it Charlotte, I have a test to study for and I misplaced my study sheet” Liv snapped, not wanting to get any closer to Ruby. “What is she doing here?”

Charlotte gave her a small smile. “I think Ruby wanted to give you something.” 

Ruby turned to look at Liv and offered up Liv’s old test. “I owe you an apology for what I said the other day. I shouldn’t have implied what I did, that wasn’t nice and I realized that it hurt you-”

Liv cut her off with a scoff. “You didn’t hurt me, what makes you think I care about your opinion of me?” Liv snapped stepping forwards into Ruby’s bubble space. “You can’t hurt me, you’re just another one of those smart, egotistical jerks.”

Charlotte stood to her feet, towering over both of them. “That’s enough Liv! Look Ruby was trying to apologize to you, but I think you owe her an apology too.” 

“Excuse me? She slut-shamed me.” Liv said indignantly. 

“After you insulted her multiple times. You’re not innocent either Olivia. So if you want me to help tutor you in the future then you have to play nice.” Charlotte said, before noticing that Ruby was grabbing her backpack to leave. 

Liv scowled but watched as Ruby started to walk away. “Fine, I’m sorry that I compared you to Hayley Williams, and I’m sorry for calling you a narc and a suck-up.” She said, growing exasperated.

Ruby glanced over her shoulder. “I’m sorry for what I said too.” 

Charlotte nodded her approval. “Liv I think Ruby can help you with your history test. If you both can put aside your egos and your differences you might find yourself being friends.” Charlotte suggested. 

“Yeah that’s unlikely,” Ruby said, shaking her head. 

“We have zero things in common,” Liv added, surprised to find herself agreeing with Ruby. Her face softened. “Look if you can help me with my test, I’ll lay off,” Liv promised, though this time her words were directed at Ruby. 

Ruby shrugged her shoulders. “I have nothing better to do, I’ll help you. Let’s go to the library again, it's quieter.” She said, walking towards it without even waiting to see if Liv was going to follow. 

Charlotte watched them go and then let out a groan. She hadn’t known that dealing with the two of them and getting them on the same page was going to be like herding cats. 

“I think I’m going to need a bigger Starbucks and an Advil,” Charlotte muttered to herself. 

\----

Ruby let out an exhausted sigh as she made her way through the school parking lot. She was ready to just go home and hang out with her dad. He hadn’t been feeling well lately and all Ruby wanted to do was curl up against his side and be there. 

She was almost to her car when a streak of blonde ran in front of her and abruptly stopped. Ruby stopped as well and stared down into the excited eyes of one Liv Morgan. Ruby still wasn’t sure where they stood but she had done her best to help Liv study for the test. 

“Can I help you with something Morgan?” Ruby asked, noting the fact that Liv seemed to be vibrating with energy and excitement. 

“You already did! I got a C+ on my history test and it’s all thanks to you.” Liv said all but shoving the paper into Ruby’s face. 

Ruby gave an amused half-smile and looked through the test sheet. “Wow that’s actually really good, I’m proud of you Liv. You earned that C+.” 

Liv nodded and rubbed the back of her neck, kind of awkwardly kicking at the gravel. “Hey look obviously your tutoring helped me and I need all the help I can get.” Liv wasn’t all that great at humbling herself or asking for help, but she was trying. “Do you think you could give me another chance and start tutoring me for real? I promise to be nicer and not insult you.” 

Ruby was surprised by her words but nodded in agreement. “I could use the pay for tutoring. So yes, I’ll tutor you and help you out. I also promise to not insult you, I’m still sorry for the crack I made the other day.” 

“I forgive you already. People have said worse to me.” Liv managed a small smile of her own and looked down at her test. “Man this might be good enough to go on my fridge.” 

There was something so childlike and innocent about Liv’s words, that it softened Ruby’s heart a little bit. “Imagine how it will feel when you get a B or an A. We’ll keep working on it,” Ruby promised. 

“Today?” Liv asked looking hopeful.

“I’m sorry I can’t stay today. But maybe we can meet and study tomorrow?” Ruby offered, trying to at least meet her halfway. 

“Sure,” Liv said, giving her a thumbs up. “See you tomorrow Riott.” 

Ruby nodded, turning to get into the car before she hesitated. “Don’t you usually take the bus?” She recalled what Charlotte told her about them having something in common. It was at least worth the risk to get to know Liv, Ruby wanted to put the past behind them. 

Liv looked confused by the question. “Yeah, why?” 

“Hop in, I’ll drive you home,” Ruby said nodding to the passenger side. 

“I live like on the wrong side of the tracks Ruby. You may not want to drive over there if I hurry I can still catch the bus.” Liv said, feeling a little embarrassed about Ruby seeing where she lived. She didn't want the other girl to think less of her and judge her. “I’ll just see you tomorrow for tutoring,” Liv called over her shoulder before jogging for the bus. 

If Ruby thought Liv’s behavior was strange she didn’t call her on it. She wasn’t sure they were on that level of closeness anyways. Shaking her head she climbed into her car and headed towards home, she was ready for a nap and to put the stress of the day behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liv gets worried when Ruby doesn't show up for school, and goes to her house uninvited.

The chilly breeze that swirled around the high school campus, didn’t seem to have its usual bite. Liv blamed that on the fact that for the first time in a long time she was happy. When she had hung her C+ paper on the fridge, her mom had given her a proud smile. Being one of seven kids in a single-parent home, trying to fight for her mother’s attention was common. Her mom had come home tired, but when she had seen the test paper, Liv swore her mom looked young again. 

Liv wasn’t ready to tell Ruby her life story, but she wanted to thank the loner girl for her help in studying. Liv made her way to the library figuring that she was probably going to find Ruby there. Instead, the library was empty aside from Charlotte who despite the chill looked regal and composed. 

“Hey, Flair! Have you seen Ruby around?” Liv asked, making her way over to Charlotte. “I wanted to see if she would help me study for my next test.”

Charlotte raised a brow, surprised that Liv’s opinion of Ruby had flipped so quickly. “Ruby had some personal matters to take care of at home. I don’t think she’s going to be here today. I can help you study.” Charlotte offered, giving Liv a sympathetic smile. 

Liv felt a wave of disappointment hit her, but she pushed those feelings away. “Sure, I’d appreciate that,” Liv said, trying to be grateful for any help that she could get. 

She plopped down at the table, trying to focus and not let her mind drift. What did Charlotte mean by personal matters anyways, was Ruby sick or something? Liv scowled, trying to get her brain to pay attention to what Charlotte was trying to teach her. She couldn’t allow concerned feelings to distract her, no matter who the person was. That didn’t stop the million and one thoughts going through her head.

The next hour seemed to be the longest of Liv’s life, it felt like it just kept dragging on. Normally she didn’t mind studying with Charlotte, the blonde was brilliant, but Liv didn’t like the way the taller girl seemed to baby her. When Ruby was tutoring her, she kept Liv on task by giving her little jobs to do and having her write things down on flashcards. Charlotte was trying and very much failing to keep Liv engaged in the learning experience. 

It was Liv that finally pulled the plug on the tutoring session. She was starting to get a headache and she knew that Charlotte was equally as frustrated with the whole experience. 

“I really have appreciated you trying, but I need to get to class,” Liv said gathering her items and cramming them all haphazardly into her backpack. She was already thinking of how she was going to find out where Ruby lived. Somebody in the school had to know, besides maybe if Liv brought her some soup then Ruby would be willing to help her study. 

There was a part of her that still felt guilty about how everything had gone down in their first tutoring session. They had finally started to make progress and Liv wanted to build on that. She figured she would talk to Sarah, her friend had an insane ability to track down any piece of information for the right price. It would probably have to wait until lunch though. 

Charlotte watched her go and chuckled softly. She hated that she hadn’t been able to help her, but she had a feeling she knew the girl was going to go next. Liv had never been all that subtle and when she saw something she wanted, the girl was like a dog with a bone.

\----

After what felt like the longest school day in recent memory, Liv found Sarah waiting by the lockers. "So did you figure out where she lives?" Liv asked, crossing her arms. 

Sarah exchanged a look with her boyfriend Rowe before nodding at Liv's question. "Yeah I found her, but it was really weird. She lives on the opposite side of the tracks from us." Sarah warned, knowing how Liv felt about the preppy people who lived on the 'right' side of the tracks. 

Liv already had a feeling that was the case but she didn't really care about that. It didn't seem like the most important thing that Ruby lived on the other side of town. She just wanted to make sure that Ruby was okay and maybe selfishly have the girl help her with her homework. 

"Just give the address Sarah, it's fine. I can handle it." Liv said, holding out her hand. 

"Do you need us to give you a ride over there? It's quite the distance." Rowe offered as Sarah handed Liv the address. He didn't want her to get stuck and have to walk for hours in the dark. 

The idea of having to walk home alone wasn't an appealing one, but Liv wasn't sure how long it would take her at Ruby's. "I'll find my way home but if I need a ride home I'll let you know. A ride there does sound good though if you don't mind." 

Sarah chuckled and lightly shoved Liv's shoulder. "Come on blondie, we'll give you a ride." 

Liv followed the couple to their call, feeling a bit more relaxed as she studied the piece of paper. She was curious about how Sarah had gotten the address but she didn't want to ask. Somethings were better left unsaid, especially when it came to Sarah's methods for getting info. 

When they finally got to Ruby's house, it was a lot different then Liv expected. It was a small blue house with faded white trim that looked like it could use a fresh coat of paint. There was Ruby's car in the driveway as well as a small SUV, but otherwise, there was no other sign of extravagances like the other houses in the neighborhood that had fountains and numerous cars. The house was one of the smallest on the street but somehow Liv loved it even more. 

"You sure you don't need us to stay?" Sarah questioned, eyeing the house warily. 

"No, I'll be okay," Liv said grabbing her backpack and making her way to the front door. As she reached out a hand to knock, she was struck by a sudden case of nerves. She wasn't sure what Ruby's reaction would be to her randomly showing up, there was the possibility that Ruby could end up being angry. Before she could chicken out the door swung open. 

A woman that looked resembled an older version of Ruby but with the same kind eyes had opened the door. The woman looked surprised to see Liv and startled for a second. "Oh sorry, didn't see you there. Can I help you?" 

"S-Sorry, my name is Liv. I was wondering if Ruby was here?" Liv stammered, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. 

"Ruby?... Do you mean Dori? I think she mentioned something about people calling her by that nickname at school. I'm here mother. Dori, one of your friends is at the front door." Ruby's mother called, before stepping aside to let Liv in. "Come on in, I was just about to run to the corner store. Make yourself at home Liv." 

Liv blinked in surprise but walked into the house, the warm smell of freshly baked cookies catching her attention. She turned her attention to Ruby who entered the room, looking unsure and surprised to see her. 

"Liv, what are you doing here? How do you even know where I live?" Ruby asked, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"Um surprise?" Liv said before giving a half-hearted shrug. "I was concerned when I didn't see you at school today. I wanted to see if you're okay" 

"You came all this way just to see if I was okay?" If it was possible for Ruby to sound even more confused, she somehow managed it at that moment. "Is this a prank?" 

"No!" Liv scowled, resenting Ruby's implication. "If you want the truth, I need your help studying. Charlotte tried to help me, but she isn't you." Liv grumbled, feeling a bit flustered. She had felt a bit off since the second she had entered Ruby's home. 

Ruby just stared at her for a long minute, unsure of what to make of Liv. Part of her was irritated that the girl showed up uninvited, but the other part of her had to admire the girl's guts. "I stayed home because I had a family emergency." 

"Crap, I'm sorry," Liv said, realizing that perhaps she should have called first. "I sound really self-centered I guess." The blonde at least had the gall to look somewhat ashamed now. 

"No more than usual." Ruby fired back but there was no real bite in her tone. She managed a small smile. "Look I could probably spend a few minutes helping you out. My dad is sleeping right now." 

"Is he the one that's sick?" Liv asked quietly, not wanting to be a jerk by making an assumption. 

An unreadable expression crossed Ruby’s face before the darker-haired girl looked down. She took a shaky breath. “He has some medical issues. Sometimes his pain gets so bad he’s bedridden for weeks. My mom had work today so I was staying home to keep him company.” Ruby explained, feeling rather raw and exposed. 

“Family comes first, I get it.” Liv’s own words felt hollow but she wasn’t sure what else to say. She was silent for a second before she cleared her throat. “My dad died before I was born, my mom was like six months pregnant with me. I am the youngest of seven kids. My mom does her best ya know but there are seven of us. Things and people fall between the cracks.” 

Ruby was surprised by the super personal confession. “Why are you telling me this?”

“It was only fair. Now we both know things about each other. It was why I didn't want you to give me a ride home the other day. I was embarrassed about where I live.” Liv shifted awkwardly again and folded her arms across her chest. “I am sorry about your dad.” 

“Sorry about yours too.” Ruby sighed heavily and gestured for Liv to follow her. “Here let me help you with your homework, my mom made cookies so you stopped by at a good time.” 

“After the boring day I had, I could use a cookie.” Liv chuckled weakly and followed Ruby into the kitchen. “You sure you don’t mind helping me, I totally understand that you have more important things to do.?” 

Ruby managed a small laugh of her own. “Well, it would be a shame for you to come all this way to see me, and not have me help. Plus it’ll be a nice distraction. My mom doesn’t think I have friends.” Ruby was trying to see the bright side of it all. She had spent most of her day curled up by her dad in his hospital bed, watching golden girls reruns.

“Your mom has the same warm eyes you do,” Liv commented, before blushing. “You know what I mean. Besides you have a friend now, even though I didn’t know your name was Dori...it’s a-dory-ble?”

Ruby scowled at Liv, trying to hide her own blush and flipped her off. “Don’t ever use that pun again. It was horrible.” She muttered groaning in fake disgust. “I may just rescind that cookie offer.”

Liv’s jaw dropped. “No way, you can’t offer me a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie and then take it back. That’s like a war crime, like against the geneva conference” 

“Oh god, you really do need a history lesson. It’s the Geneva convention. Alright crack open the notebooks Liv and I’ll grab us some cookies.” Ruby mused, laughing again. As much as their new friendship felt unlikely, Ruby was thankful that Liv had stopped by. It really had lifted her spirits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all are enjoying the story. Please feel free to leave a comment, kudo, or subscribe. I have over 30 other stories so feel free to check those out as well. 
> 
> I hope you all are staying safe during these trying times. You're all in my thoughts and prayers.


	4. Chapter 4

There was nothing like a nice hot shower, where the water was hot enough to soak into your muscles and relax you. Unfortunately, Liv Morgan didn’t know anything about that, seeing as how the small portion of hot water her family’s crappy apartment had, had already been used. On top of that, a fuse had blown and the teenager was forced to shower in the dark. Her mother claimed it was a blown fuse, but Liv had a feeling that more likely it was because her mother was short on the electric bill again. 

Shivering Liv did her best to shower quickly and then get out of the shower. Wrapping herself up in two towels to ward off the chill, she attempted to brush her hair and get dressed as soon as possible. It almost wasn’t fair how cold she felt, but she didn’t utter a complaint about it. 

As usual, she found her mother asleep on the ratty couch, snoring away. Liv watched the slow rise and fall of her mother’s chest and sighed. It always broke her heart to see her mom so tired after a double shift. She had half a mind to tell her mom to just go lay in her room instead of sleeping on the couch, but she didn’t want to wake her. Instead, Liv settled for grabbing a blanket and covering her up with it. 

Grabbing her backpack she headed out the door and to school. She still felt cold, but she knew that she’d warm up once she was in class. Liv wasn’t sure if she was going to see Ruby that day but part of her hoped so, she hoped that she’d run into her. Ever since Liv had shown up on Ruby’s doorstep, they had developed a closer friendship. While Sarah was still her best friend, there was a different sort of bond with Ruby. 

She found the goth-looking girl in the library and cracked a smile when she saw Ruby was reading some old poetry book. Liv couldn’t help but laugh because part of her had suspected that deep down Ruby was a softie when it came to the written word. 

“Are you laughing at me?” Ruby asked, not evening looking up from her book. She instead kept her eyes glued to the book and slowly turned the page. 

“Only a little bit, but it’s just because you have this cute almost constipated look on your face.” Liv teased, before taking a seat across from Ruby. 

“Oh, gee thanks,” Ruby muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “Just what a teenage girl wants to hear in the morning before school.”

Liv gave a sheepish smile and turned her attention to her own backpack. She pulled out her homework when her stomach gave a loud growl. 

Ruby finally glanced up and raised a brow. “Did you not eat anything this morning Liv? I know they seem to preach is the most important meal of the day.” Ruby chided softly. 

“Didn’t have time. The power is out in my house, it was just a crazy morning.” Liv admitted, shrugging her shoulders. Truth be told she wasn't even sure that there was anything in her house to eat. 

Giving a thoughtful hum Ruby reached into her backpack and pulled out a bag full of grapes, sliding them across to Liv. “Here eat some of these.” 

Liv quickly shook her head. “No, they’re yours, Ruby. That wouldn’t be fair to you.” 

Ruby just waved her off and nodded to the grapes. “I have more at home, eat these. I don’t want to hear any excuses about you not being able to focus. Think of it as me actually looking out for myself.” 

Taking the grapes reluctantly, Liv managed a small smile. “Thanks, Rue.” 

“Don’t mention it,” Ruby said, before going back to reading. She didn't want to make a big deal out of it or treat Liv like she was giving her a handout.

Liv was silent for a moment before seemingly realizing that Charlotte wasn’t around. “Where’s the blonde amazon.” 

“She went to see her friend Bayley a state over. Charlotte gets to be special and take random trips because of her dad.” Ruby said, still attempting to read. She could feel Liv shifting over and over again in her seat and with a sigh, she finally put the book away. “Something bothering you blondie?”

Liv nodded slowly. “Actually yeah. I need extra credit and one of the teachers was offering extra credit for taking one of those fake babies home. You’re supposed to feed it, change it and take care of it for three days. I was going to ask Charlotte to help since she’s one of the most responsible people I know.” 

Ruby eyed her for a long moment and then chuckled. “The mental image of you and Charlotte trying to raise a fake child together is entertaining, but like I said she isn’t here.” 

A scowl etched its way across Liv’s face. “What am I going to do now?” She questioned. 

“You could ask me to help. I am good at taking care of people, I help take care of my dad.” Ruby pointed out. 

“Wait, would you really help me?” Liv questioned, her eyes widening. “That would be so great! We could co-parent on the project.” 

Ruby could see the way Liv’s face started to bright and couldn’t bring herself to crush the girl’s dream. She wanted Liv to excel in school and to have a fair shot since everything seemed to be conspiring against the petite blonde. “Alright fine, I will help you. But when we get you an ‘A’ on this project you’re going to owe me one.” 

Liv nodded rapidly. “What do I owe you, some jolly ranchers? The blue ones are my favorite.” 

Ruby shook her head. “If I help you get an A, then I want you to promise me that you’ll apply for a bunch of scholarships and different colleges, deal?” 

Liv hesitated for a second wanting to point out she probably wouldn’t be able to afford the colleges even if she got accepted. “Fine, deal,” Liv said, shaking Ruby’s hand. “I’ll sign us up then.”

Ruby watched her leave and just sighed, wondering what she had gotten herself into. This friendship with Liv was going to get her into trouble, she could already tell.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Liv deal with their new project.

“That is the ugliest baby doll I have ever seen,” Sarah commented as she sat down at one of the lunch tables. 

Liv glared at her best friend and made a show of covering the doll’s ears. “Auntie Sarah didn’t mean that Ollie. She’s just bitter she didn’t get one. Back me up here Rue, tell her our child isn't ugly!” 

Sarah rolled her eyes and glanced at Ruby who was looking over Liv’s homework and correcting it. “You’re fine with her naming the doll Ollie?” 

“His name is Oliver and he isn’t ugly,” Ruby replied, not even looking up. She still wasn’t sure what to make of Liv’s friends, but they had started to hang around her too. 

Liv huffed and inspected the fake baby she and Ruby were supposed to be looking after. “He’s got my eyes.” 

Ruby snorted softly and glanced up, stealing a carrot off of her tray before pushing the rest towards Liv. “Remember if he starts to cry, you got to use the key to turn the thing on his back.” She reminded her gently. 

“I think I can do that. Do you mind watching him tonight? I’ll keep him during the day, but I’m worried one of my siblings might throw him out the window.” Liv said quietly. Since she and Ruby were doing this project together, it was important that they spend equal time with the baby. 

“Alright I’ll take Ollie tonight, but you have him as soon as you get to school tomorrow,” Ruby said, before glancing back to the homework. She finished circling some mistakes Liv had made in her homework and handed it back to the blonde. “You need to make sure you cite your sources in your essay. Ms. Guerro can be a real stickler for MLA format.” 

Sarah, who had been watching the interaction between the two, cleared her throat. “I know you’ve been helping Liv, but could you help me too? I can pay you, I suck at English papers and could use a proofreader to help with my grammar.” 

Ruby hesitated, not sure she could take on even more responsibility. “Alright, I will tell you what, if Liv can watch Ollie tomorrow during lunch, I’ll look over your paper.” Ruby offered, wanting to be helpful. 

“How much do I owe you for the help?” Sarah asked, tilting her head. 

“Twenty bucks to proofread and edit the whole thing for you. I have a baby to support now apparently.” Ruby said chuckling as she reached across the table to shake hands with Sarah. 

“And you can’t call the baby ugly anymore!” Liv added, her eyes narrowing playfully at Sarah. 

“Fine, no calling Ollie ugly. Maybe I’ll knit him a beanie.” Sarah replied. 

Ruby arched a brow. “You knit? I didn't know that about you Logan.”

“I am a woman of many talents. Don’t underestimate me.” Sarah said smugly, pulling out her phone to show Ruby the scarf she had knitted. “The school psychologist encouraged me to have a hobby outside of my usual farm-related ones. Apparently I have a quick temper and my shrink told me I needed to find healthy ways to get my feelings out.” 

“You know, Sarah wanted to own her own farm. She has a really green thumb.” Liv explained. 

“That’s impressive,” Ruby admitted, realizing she might have misjudged some of Liv’s friends. They were certainly an interesting bunch. 

Sarah nodded and then stood up. “Well I have to go meet Rowe, he’s my ride home. Do you need a ride home Liv?” She asked, not wanting to leave Liv stranded at school.

Liv looked between Sarah and Ruby, she wanted to hang out with Ruby a little while longer. “It’s okay I can just walk home.”

“Don’t worry about her Sarah, I’ll give her a ride home,” Ruby promised, going back to doing her own homework. It wasn’t really an issue and she already had a car. "Remember to bring your paper tomorrow so I can help you fix it, Sarah." 

"I will do that, thank you," Sarah said, before giving a hug to Liv. "See you tomorrow Liv."

Liv was silent for a few minutes after Sarah left, just studying Ruby. She remembered how badly their first meeting had gone and how now she really enjoyed the time they spent together. It was quite the change but Liv was thankful for it, it hadn't escaped her attention that Ruby often did little things to help her without asking.

"You're staring at me again," Ruby said, chewing on her pencil. She realized that Liv was being unusually quiet and looked up from her paper. 

"I just appreciate you, Ruby. You're constantly sharing food with me, helping my friends. I didn't think you and I would ever get along after what happened the first tutoring session, but I am glad we worked through it." Liv said giving her a grateful smile. She realized now that Ruby was just selective about her friends because she had a lot on her plate, not because the girl was unfriendly. 

Ruby blushed a little bit and shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal. Helping you and your friends is easier than focusing on my own problems at home. I'm aware that I don't fit in, but I feel less alone when I'm around you." Ruby said with a shrug, trying to downplay how much it all meant to her. She didn't want Liv to think she was weird or something. 

Liv was about to reply when the doll started crying. Liv turned, carefully picking Ollie up and gently rocking the doll, trying to get him to stop crying. “Being a parent is harder than I thought.” 

Ruby chuckled and took the doll from Liv, putting the little key in and turning it to stop him from crying. “We’re lucky it’s a doll and not the real thing. I don’t even know if I want a kid.” Ruby said with a sad smile. 

“Well good thing you don’t have to worry about it for a while.” Liv could tell Ruby was getting sad and reached out to place a hand on her shoulder. “Are you really okay with taking me home. My house isn’t as impressive as yours.” 

Ruby snorted softly. “I won’t ever judge your house, that’s not who I am. But if you’re more comfortable with me dropping you off down the street, I won’t mind.”

“I am not ready to introduce you to my family, plus my mom is still probably sleeping. I don’t want to wake her up.” Liv wanted her mom to get plenty of rest. “I’m sorry Ruby.”

“That’s fine, come on. Let’s strap Ollie into his car seat and then maybe on the way home we can stop and grab a donut.” Ruby suggested, wanting to make Liv feel better. 

Liv’s whole face lit up. “A donut?! You’re speaking my language. Let’s go!”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby is struggling under the weight of everything and Liv does something nice for her.

Ruby was feeling a little overwhelmed, but she didn’t know how to express that. With Charlotte away visiting Bayley in another state, a lot of students that Charlotte tutored had been coming to her. Ruby was trying to balance everything with her sick dad, helping Liv with the baby project, tutoring Liv’s friends and now she had been trying to help out Charlotte’s usual group as well. 

She was exhausted, but still trying to keep the wheel spinning. She didn’t want to let anybody down, least of all Charlotte or Liv. Ollie their little baby project had kept her up most of the night crying at random times. Ruby, of course, had wanted to ignore the baby, but she knew that Liv needed a good grade. 

Dark circles had made their way under her eyes, but somehow Ruby had kept standing and going until she couldn’t. Thankfully Liv had agreed to take Ollie for the day since at the end of school they could turn him in and get their grade. She wouldn’t admit it, but Ruby was thankful she wouldn’t have to take Ollie home anymore. Ruby’s dad hadn’t been feeling well or sleeping much at all, Ruby felt guilty that their project had been disrupting his rest. 

It was during Ruby’s third-period history class that her exhaustion finally got the best of her and she fell asleep in class. Normally she was super attentive and it was out of character for her to fall asleep, which was why Mr. Copeland didn’t wake her up. He told the other students to let her sleep, he could tell she was having a rough go of things. 

When Ruby woke up, it was late into the fifth period, and embarrassingly she had drooled on her desk. She lifted her head surprised to find the classroom empty except for Mr. Copeland who sat at his desk grading papers. The door to the classroom was open, resulting in a nice breeze. 

“You okay?” The teacher asked, not looking up from his papers. “I know you don’t usually fall asleep in class so I have to say I’m a bit worried. Are you not sleeping well, is something going on at home?” Mr. Copeland was aware of Ruby’s dad’s sickness, but Ruby had always performed at the top of her class. Except lately her homework seemed sloppy and like she hadn’t put in her full effort 

Ruby let out a tired sigh and sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. “I think I am just a little tired sir. I think I took on too many responsibilities. I’m tutoring a bunch of people, trying to take care of my dad, and then by the time, I can finally relax I’m too tired to do anything other than sleep. I feel like I am running on empty.” 

Mr. Copeland gave her a sympathetic smile. “Well you’ve already missed two class periods, why don’t you just stay here. You can nap or grade paper, I’ll talk to your other teachers and explain the situation. I am pretty sure I have an in with Ms. Phoenix.” 

Ruby giggled softly, it was one of the school’s worst kept secrets that Copeland and Phoenix were engaged. “Thank you, sir, I appreciate that.” Ruby laid her head back down, content to just get as much sleep as she could. It wasn’t like she had any tests that day, she just wanted to catch a nap and sleep while she had the opportunity. 

When Ruby woke up again it was when the final bell for the day was ringing. She gave Mr. Copeland a grateful look and made her way out to the car. She was surprised to find Liv leaning against her car, clearly waiting. 

“Did you turn in Ollie?” Ruby asked, noting that Liv wasn’t carrying the doll anymore. It had been an interesting week, but Ruby was ready for the project to be over. “Did we do good?” 

“We got an A,” Liv said beaming proudly. She studied Ruby for a long moment, tilting her head to the side. “Hey not to be nosy or anything, but I didn’t see you at lunch today or in the library. Is everything okay?” 

“Yeah, I am just a little tired,” Ruby explained giving her an apologetic look. “Do you mind if we skip tutoring today?” 

Liv shook her head. “I don’t have any tests for a couple of days, so I can just study by myself. You do look tired.” 

Ruby leaned against the car, trying not to yawn again. “It’s just been a long week. I am glad the weekend is coming up, I plan on sleeping in.” She admitted. 

“Well you definitely deserve a break, you should pamper yourself,” Liv suggested. 

Ruby just laughed. “I’ll probably spend some time with my dad. Curl up and watch a movie with him, he hasn’t been feeling well. Maybe I’ll see if I can find the Indiana Jones movies on the TV. He loves those.” Ruby said. She didn’t want to admit it, but she worried about her dad a lot. Her greatest fear was waking up and him no longer being there. 

“Alright, Rue. I hope you have a good weekend.” Liv said, hugging her friend tightly. 

Surprised by the hug, it took Ruby a second to return it. “I’ll see you on Monday. If you have any questions on the homework you can just message me and I’ll try to help you when I have free time.” 

“No worries, you should take the weekend off. You need a break.” Liv mumbled into her taller friend’s shoulder before pulling away. She gave her a little wave and jogged across the parking lot to catch up with Sarah and Rowe. 

\----

It was a couple of hours later after Ruby got home that she was doing her homework. She had curled up in the recliner next to her dad's hospital bed, her textbooks spread out in front of her, while she wrote some notes. Since Ruby had pissed some of her classes, she was trying to catch up and make sure that she had the notes she would need for any future test.

Ruby's phone buzzed and she was surprised to see a message from Liv. 'I left you something on your porch'.

The text message was without the usual emojis, but Ruby got to her feet and walked to her front door. When she opened the door she was surprised to find a rather large gift basket. Ruby picked it up and carried it to her kitchen, setting it on the table. She plucked the card from the basket, and smile as she read it. 

'Dear Ruby,   
Sarah, Rowe, and the rest of us have decided that you deserve a relaxing weekend. So we got you a little something to help with that. We all appreciate what you do for us and the hard work you put in. Hopefully, you get to spoil yourself and have some quality time with your family. Thank you for everything  
\- Liv'

A smiling Ruby slowly plucked the contents out of the basket. She knew that none of her friends were exactly rich, but she could tell that they had put a lot of thought into her gift. They had gotten her some popcorn and candy, as well as some Indiana Jones movies, that she recognized from the local movie shop. There was also a couple of dollar store nail polishes, some bubble bath, a bath bomb, and some lotion. 

Ruby didn't consider herself particularly girly, but the fact that they had done all of this for her meant a lot. She had been pouring a lot of her time and energy into helping the others, so it was nice that they were trying to give back to her. The moody teenager had thought that high school would be more survivable without attachments or friends, but she was starting to really enjoy having people to talk to like Liv. 

Sarah, Rowe, and the rest of Liv's friends weren't so bad either. Often times Ruby was no longer lonely on the walk between classes, she now had people talking to her that she didn't even realize knew her name. Ruby still had a lot of her walls up, but she was beginning to realize that letting a couple of people in, wasn't going to kill her. 

"Oh who sent you that sweetheart?" Ruby's dad asked as she carried in the popcorn and the movies to show him. He looked more excited about the movie than he had in a long time. 

A warm grin tugged at the corner of her lips. "Oh, just some friends." She said quietly.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby does a good deed and gets rewarded.

“Hey, are you paying attention? Did you even hear what I was saying?” Ruby asked, tapping her pencil against Liv’s notebook. She had been trying to help Liv study for a test, but the blonde had been staring out the window instead of paying attention. Something had Liv distracted and Ruby was curious as to what had been bothering her. “Liv, are you okay? Liv!” Ruby slammed her hand down on the notebook causing Liv to jump. 

A wide-eyed and scared look crossed Liv’s features as she locked eyes with Ruby. “Why the heck did you do that?” She asked. 

“Sorry, I was trying to get your attention,” Ruby replied. She gave her an apologetic smile and nudged her. “Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you or do I have to be a mind reader? I'll bribe you with some carrots." Ruby offered, pulling a bag of carrots out of her backpack and offering them to her friend.

Liv scowled and glanced at her notebook. “It’ll sound stupid and you’ll laugh at me.” She muttered glumly. She knew she should be paying attention but her thoughts felt like they were a million miles away. 

Ruby shook her head. “I would not laugh at you, why don’t you tell me what is bothering you and we’ll address it. I am here for you,” Ruby said, giving her a reassuring smile. Ruby had never really had close friends, until Liv, Charlotte had probably been the closest thing she had. 

“I’ve never got to go on one of those college field trips. You know the ones where you get to go on an overnight or weekend field trip and explore the college?” Liv asked, her gaze searching as if she expected Ruby to start laughing at her at any moment. “A bunch of students is going next weekend and I am just bummed because a piece of me wishes I could go,” Liv muttered, stealing one of Ruby’s carrots.

“I’ve heard of them. What colleges are they going to?” Ruby hadn’t known that the school was doing that, but she wouldn’t have gone anyways because it wasn’t like her family had the extra cash laying around. 

“Notre Dame and Purdue.” Liv fiddled with her pencil. “Look I know I’m not going to get into a fancy college. My grades are getting better but at best I’ll probably have to go to a community college and hope I find a way to transfer. I just really want to go see the college, have something to dream for.” 

Ruby could sympathize with that, she felt for Liv. “Alright what do you have to do, to be able to go on the trip?” Ruby asked. 

“Somehow raise a hundred and fifty dollars by next Thursday. Ms. McCool is the one that’s orchestrating the trip.” Liv explained sounding defeated. With a sigh, Liv shook her head and stared down at her notebook. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. It’s a stupid pipe dream, let’s just study.” 

“Alright, if that is what you want,” Ruby said, though she did slide her bag of carrots towards Liv to try and lift her spirits a little bit. She wasn't going to push Liv to talk about something if it was bothering her that much, she just wanted the other teen to know she was there for her. 

\----

“Hey, Mrs. McCool you got a minute?” 

Ruby wasn’t sure what her plan was, but she knew she needed to talk to her teacher. She hated seeing Liv so sad and she wanted to help the girl out. If there was anybody who deserved a chance to go on the field trip it was Liv. 

“Sure, what is it?” Michelle asked, gesturing for Ruby to stay behind and talk to her. “Is everything alright?” 

“Sort of. Liv mentioned to me that she would like to go on the weekend field trip to the college. I don’t have all the money to pay her way, but I have about sixty of it. Is that enough to reserve her a spot on the bus?” Ruby asked quietly. 

The teacher looked surprised by that. “Yeah that would be enough, but she would still need to come up with another ninety dollars.” Michelle pointed out. 

Ruby sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “I’ll figure it out. Liv has been working really hard to bring her grades up and I want to show her that going to college is achievable. She can make it there someday.” 

“You don’t want to go on the trip yourself? It might be a good experience for you Ruby.”

“No Ma’am, I mean it would be nice but I think Liv needs this win more than I do. I will find a way to raise the rest of the money, just hold her a spot okay?” Ruby was almost pleading now. 

Michelle gave an amused smile. “I wasn’t aware you and Ms. Morgan had become friends. I knew you were tutoring her, but it’s nice to see you guys are close.” 

“It was rocky at first. I won’t lie, but I am glad to have Liv in my life. She’s an amazing person, I want to see her go to college and be successful.” Ruby said, her mind already racing a million miles a minute. She knew if she asked Sarah, Rowe, and Charlotte she could probably get them to contribute a little bit of money since it was for Liv. 

“That’s thoughtful of you. I’ll talk to the other chaperones and see if they know of any ways to raise money. Sometimes they have those candy fundraisers.” Michelle suggested kindly. 

“Thank you, Mrs. McCool,” Ruby said, giving her a grateful smile. “I’ll make sure to get you the money as soon as possible.” 

\----

A couple of days later Liv was still feeling down but her mood had started to improve. Thanks to Ruby's help with studying, she was now getting Bs in her classes. Liv had brought her report card to show Ruby, Liv's own mom had actually brought her home a big piece of pie from the diner to celebrate. Liv had, of course, saved the piece of pie for school, because she wanted to share it with Ruby and her friends. 

"Rue! Rue look, I did it!" Liv said all but shoving the piece of paper into Ruby's face. 

Ruby went cross-eyed for a second and then laughed as she read over Liv's report card. "That is so great Liv! You've really been working hard, I am proud of you! You put in the effort, this is a great achievement." 

Liv threw her arms around Ruby and hugged her tightly. She knew she wasn't the easiest person to tutor. It was hard for her to sit still and focus, but she appreciated Ruby's patience. "I really couldn't have done this without you. You have really come through for me." 

Ruby shrugged sheepishly and looked around at the group of people that had become her friends. "You changed my life too Liv. I didn't think I'd have friends outside of Charlotte, I didn't think I needed them. I can't imagine my wife without all you knuckleheads." Ruby said smiling over at Sarah, Rowe, and Hanson. Even Liv's more popular friends like Sonya, Mandy and Carmella, Nattie, Lacey, Dolph, AJ, and Drew had started hanging around. 

Liv fished the small container of pie from her backpack. "I thought I'd share the reward with you. My mom was so proud of me! Here you can have the cherry on the top. I saved it just for you" 

Sarah snorted softly and was about to make a dirty comment, but Ruby silenced her with a look. No doubt Sarah was going to say something that would make Liv uncomfortable and Ruby didn’t want her ruining the moment. 

"Don't go there, Sarah." She warned, before laughing. Ruby shook her head at Liv, giving her a warm smile. "No Liv, you keep it. It's all you." Ruby had learned early in their friendship that cherries were the blonde’s favorite part anyway, so she wasn’t going to take her favorite part.

The duo split the piece of the pie when the school's intercom went off. "Liv Morgan and Dori Prange please report to the front office."

Rowe crinkled his nose. "Whose Dori Prange?" He asked causing Sarah to laugh.

Ruby blushed and shook her head. "That would be me, don't ever call me that." 

"It's A-Dori-ble though," Liv said winking at her friend as she gathered her stuff. "Why are we being called to the front office?" 

Ruby shrugged her shoulders and slid her backpack on. "I am not sure." She had her suspicions that the school was informing Liv that she got to go on the trip, but she didn't want to tell her friend in case she was wrong. 

They made it to the front office to find that not only was Mrs. McCool waiting for them but so was Mr. Copeland and some of the other teachers. Liv shifted uncomfortably and looked between the teachers. For as loud as Liv could be, the way they were staring at her made her apprehensive. 

"Did we do something?" Liv asked breaking the silence. 

Mrs. McCool smiled and shook her head. "I wanted to inform you that you have been selected to go on the college field trip." 

Liv's face flushed with embarrassment. "I really appreciate that, but I can't afford to go." 

"Actually you can," Ruby said quietly from behind Liv. "I pulled some strings and I got our friend to pitch in about ten dollars apiece. You get to go on the trip Liv." 

Liv was stunned and look confused. "Why would you do that Ruby?" 

Ruby took her friend's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Because you deserve a real opportunity to fulfill your dreams. You have worked so hard to pull your grades up and you deserve it. You gotta take lots of pictures for me okay?" 

"That's actually not the only surprise." Mr. Copeland said, flashing a smile of his own. "Loyalty and hard work are both important character traits of this school, and I believe you two are perfect examples of that. Mrs. McCool told us about how you both wanted to go, but that Ruby you used your money to help Liv go. So a bunch of the facility and staff got together and we bought your seat on the bus as well."

The usually moody teenager hadn't expected that. Ruby had thought she would just do her good deed for Liv and that would be the end of it. "I-I get to go too?" She asked in disbelief. 

Mrs. McCool nodded. "You deserve to have a shot at your dreams too. I have seen you blossom into a caring person Ruby. You two are going to have a great time on the field trip, just make sure your parents sign the permission slips." The teacher said handing them both a slip of paper. 

Liv let out an excited squeal. "Rue! We're going to see colleges!!" She tackled her friend into yet another big hug and held her tightly. 

Ruby was trying to hide it, but she was equally as excited. "I guess we got a trip to pack for."


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The college tour weekend

“Are you sure you are going to be okay with me going for the whole weekend? I don’t mind staying behind and helping you look after dad.” Ruby offered, staring up at her mom. She was excited about the field trip, but she didn’t want to leave her mom all by herself. Her mom worked hard, but taking care of Ruby's dad when he was having a rough day was like another full-time job.

“Your dad will be fine, he’s been having a string of really good days. He wants you to go on the trip.” Ruby’s mom said, giving the teenager a hug. She pulled a twenty-dollar bill out of her pocket and pressed it into Ruby’s hand. “Take care of yourself and your friend. Maybe buy yourself a little snack, I wish I had more to give you…” She sounded almost regretful.

Ruby quickly shook her head and just hugged her mom tightly. “I packed a few snacks for myself already. I got carrots, apple slices, grapes, and a couple of cookies to share.” Ruby stepped back and shouldered her backpack. “Call me if you or dad need anything..”

“We’ll be fine. I love you, sweetheart, go have a good time.” 

Chewing on her bottom lip, it took a considerable amount of effort for Ruby to turn and make her way to the bus. She was feeling nervous still, but she tried to push it away as she found Liv already seated on the bus. 

“Hey, Rue,” Liv said, moving her stuff out of the other seat so Ruby could sit by her. “Do you want the aisle seat or the window?” 

Ruby shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.” She said, plopping down next to Liv. She noted that Liv had brought a travel pillow and blanket. “Are you excited to go see Purdue and Notre Dame?” 

Liv flashed a wide smile and nodded. “Oh yeah, I am super excited, so is my mom. She told me to say thank you times a million. She sent you a piece of apple pie.” Liv chuckled and tucked herself into her friend’s side. “I really can’t believe I get to go, thank you, Ruby.”

“Your dreams have value, Liv. You should get to see them come to fruition.” Ruby replied, draping an arm around her best friend. It was strange to think that at the beginning of the year they hardly acknowledged each other, but now it was like they were inseparable. Ruby hadn’t expected to form attachments to anybody or really have friends, but now she couldn’t imagine her life without Liv. 

Liv stared at Ruby for a long moment, studying her face so intently that Ruby was the one who eventually broke eye contact first. A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of Liv’s lips. “I’ve never had anybody believe in me as much as you do. I mean seriously Rue. I’m actually doing well in school and checking out colleges, I don’t think I could have done that without you.” 

Ruby squeezed her friend tightly. “You could have Liv, don’t sell yourself short. You have the ability to do whatever you set your mind too. You are smarter and stronger than you think.” Ruby promised. She didn’t like it when Liv would get down on herself.

“Thank you for that Rue.” Liv wasn’t really sure what else to say. She wasn’t sure she always deserved the belief that her friend maintained. But it meant a lot to her nevertheless Ruby made her feel seen and that was enough for Liv. 

\-----

Liv was certain she had never dreamed of a college as big as Notre Dame. It was massive and the number of people on the campus was overwhelming, yet even in all of it, she felt grounded. She glanced over at Ruby and gently hipped checked her friend as they followed the tour guide. 

“This is impressive,” Liv said, shaking her head in disbelief. 

“Yeah, it really is.” Ruby mused, tightening the straps of her backpack. She had dreamed of college, but she had always assumed she’d attend one close to home so she could be nearby if her parents needed her. 

“Where do you want to go to college Rue?” Liv asked softly glancing over at Ruby. They hadn’t really discussed the future all that much, mainly because Liv hadn’t thought that she’d have one. A small part of her felt like she was always going to be stuck in the too-small apartment with her six siblings and her mom who worked too many jobs. Liv dreamed of making it out of that cycle, she wanted to make enough money to help take care of her family. 

Ruby shrugged her shoulders. “The community college has a good writing program.” 

Liv bumped her again gently. “Is that really your dream, or are you just settling?” Liv questioned quietly. “I mean there is nothing wrong with community college, it’s cheaper and there are still great professors, but are you settling?”

A flicker of doubt crossed Ruby's features. Maybe she was settling, guilt at possibly leaving her parents seemed to eat away at her. It was important to her that she stick close, but at the same time, she wanted the freedom to spread her wings. Ruby had spent most of her childhood in hospitals and didn't invite people over because she didn't want them judging her or being freaked out by the hospital bed in the living room. She remembered being seven and inviting a friend over, only for the girl to make fun of her dad the next day at school. Ruby had punched the girl square in the mouth, it was the only time Ruby had ever really gotten in trouble. She was aware of the fact that she didn't fit in, she wasn't popular like Liv, nor was she as confident. 

"I am scared that if I leave, he'll lose his hope and die," Ruby admitted after a long moment. She couldn't even look Liv in the eyes, she had never actually admitted that fear out loud to anybody before. "I am not sure I would ever be able to forgive myself."

Liv was silent, but gently took Ruby's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Liv didn't have a lot of experience when it came to father figures, but she knew how much Ruby's dad meant to her. "That's a lot of weight to put on yourself, but I get it," Liv replied, squeezing her hand again, trying to provide her friend with comfort. 

The two walked with the group, trying to focus on the rest of the college tour, but they were both lost in their thoughts. It remained like that until the group broke for lunch. Liv pulled Ruby under a nearby shady tree and then sat down, patting the spot next to her. 

"I think you should apply to your dream colleges, all of them. I know money is an issue but apply for all the scholarships. Your dad loves you and he would want you to go for your dreams. You can't live your life for other people Ruby, sometimes it's okay to be selfish and live it for you." Liv said, her words tumbling out of her faster than she could stop them. It had been bothering her and she just wanted to get it out. 

"Things aren't that simple Liv." Ruby protested, trembling a little. 

"They are never are sweetie." Liv looked her square in the eyes, her blue eyes blazing with emotion. "You told me earlier that my dreams have value and I should see them through. You need to allow yourself that same opportunity." 

Ruby averted her gaze, focusing on dividing the grapes between them. "It's not fair when you use my own words against me. When did you get to be so smart Liv?" 

Liv chuckled and shrugged. "Probably about the time you started tutoring me. I believe in you Ruby, just like I know you believe in me. Let's have fun this weekend and just pretend that people like us, get a happy ending. That we get to go to the colleges of our dreams." 

Ruby popped a grape into her mouth and sighed. "I think I can handle playing make-believe for a weekend." 

"There's my best friend," Liv said, winking at her. She stole a grape and then laid back on the grass staring up at the sky. "Could you imagine if we got to go to college together?" 

"No doubt you'd still be annoying me in the library." Ruby joked. She wasn't really annoyed by Liv, in fact, she enjoyed studying with her. Liv was a ball of energy, but she brightened up Ruby's life and made it colorful. 

"Girl please, I'd be making sure that we got invited to all the coolest parties," Liv said sticking out her tongue. 

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Knowing my luck, I'd be the one dragging you home from all those cool parties." 

Liv studied the clouds with a thoughtful expression. "I don't know what I'd study, but I want to do something that would allow me to take care of my mom." She sounded unusually vulnerable. "I want to be smart enough to make it through college." 

"A lot of smart people skip college or do something different. A lot of dumb people have degrees, it's not really an accurate measurement of who is smart or not." Ruby laid back on the grass and followed Liv's gaze to the clouds. "You're something special Liv, don't let this world take that from you. No matter what you do, where you go, or who you become, stay true to that voice inside of you. You have a good heart." 

Liv extended a hand towards Ruby, keeping her palm face up in case Ruby didn't want too. "Thank you for not giving up on me Rue." 

Ruby laced her fingers with Liv's and shrugged. "I won't ever give up on you Liv. I have to be front row when you graduate college or trade school. Heck, I'll be front row when you get your mom a house. I'm calling it right now, you're going to be successful in whatever you do. Just keep on moving forward Liv." 

"You too, don't put your dreams on hold. Promise me, Rue?"

"I promise Liv."


	9. Chapter 9

Despite a sort of crappy start to her day, Liv was in an unusually good mood. She had been riding a sort of happiness high from the college weekend trip. She was doing better in school now and she felt optimistic about a lot of things. It didn’t matter that the hot water heater in her family’s apartment had gone out again, or that the power was shut off. 

Liv was trying to focus on the bright side of things. Ruby had helped her get a jacket from the Notre Dame gift shop. It was one of Liv’s prized possessions now for its warm lining. It helped chase away the chill from the cold shower.

“You look nice today.” Sarah complimented, giving Liv a warm greeting as she came to sit down at the table. “Did you get that jacket on your weekend with Ruby?”

Liv nodded and shoved her hands into her pockets. “Yeah, I actually did. It was such a great weekend, we saw a lot of cool things. I didn’t even know colleges could have so many different majors and programs.” Liv said, her eyes widening. 

Sarah smiled fondly at her. “That’s great, I am so happy for you Liv,” Sarah replied genuinely. She nudged Rowe and then looked back to Liv. “Rowe got a football scholarship. He’s going to play football for Perdue.” 

“Oh, that’s wonderful Ray. Congrats buddy.” Liv said lightly punching Sarah’s boyfriend in the arm. She was excited for him and what that meant for his future. 

Rowe just chuckled. “Maybe we’ll all get to hang out. It’s a full-ride scholarship.” He mused. He knew he’d do whatever he could to help Sarah afford college as well. There was no doubt that they were end game. 

“I’ll see about maybe bringing another piece of pie tomorrow to celebrate.” Liv offered, knowing she would need to swing by to see her mom after school anyways. Her mom had forgotten to pack a lunch and Liv didn’t want her to go hungry. Though knowing her mom, it might have actually been a conscious choice to not bring lunch from home, so that way Liv’s siblings would have food to take. 

“How is your mom doing?” Sarah asked, knowing a lot about Liv’s home life since they had been friends for a while. 

Liv sighed quietly. “She’s been pulling a lot of double shifts at the diner, even doing some house cleaning on the side. I am worried she’s going to work herself to the point of injury. I know she’s tired, our power and water heater went out again.” 

Rowe perked up at this. “I could have my dad stop by and take a look at it if you want.” 

Liv hesitated. “I don’t think we could afford that Ray, I’m sorry.”

Sarah’s boyfriend waved her off. “Your mom’s always a sweetheart to us. We’re like family at this point, I’ll have him stop by. Maybe in return one of your brothers can help him sometimes when he does stock inventory.” Rowe offered. 

“Thank you, that’s very sweet of you,” Liv said, giving her two friends a big bear hug. She really appreciated how they all looked out for her. It really did mean a lot to her to be surrounded by people who cared. Being from such a big family, Liv often felt overlooked. 

Sarah hugged her back. “As Ray said, we’re a family. We all stick together, speaking of the family though, where’s Ruby?”

“She mentioned something about being late, she’s spending some time with her dad today,” Liv explained, hoping Ruby was okay.

\-----

Ruby sat at the local diner with her dad. He was actually feeling well enough to leave the house and Ruby wanted to take advantage of it being a good day. Through and through Ruby was a daddy’s girl, she loved spending time with her pops. He had always been supportive of her dreams and even when he didn’t feel good he tried to encourage her. 

“So did you enjoy your weekend?” Her dad pressed, wanting to catch up on what he had been missing. “I noticed you’ve been spending a lot of time with your new friend.”

Ruby nodded, a smile crossing her face at the mention of Liv. “Yeah, it’s been nice hanging out with her. We had fun exploring the campuses. How are you feeling, dad?”

“Oh it’s a good day, those are rare sometimes.” Ruby’s dad let out a soft sigh. “I think I’m going to have another surgery, hopefully, this one takes care of the intestine problems.” 

A feeling of dread settled into Ruby’s stomach. She always hated when her dad had to go under the knife, he had some health problems which made it risky. She just wanted to protect him, but she couldn’t. 

“Will Nana be coming to stay with me?” Ruby asked. 

“You’re old enough to stay by yourself, but I can ask her to come to stay with you if you would like. Or you could ask one of your friends.” Her dad suggested. He trusted Ruby, she had never been a wild child or anything. 

Ruby thought about it and then shrugged. “Maybe I’ll ask Liv and Sarah. I’ve never had a sleepover.”

“Are you excited for college, you’ve been applying to different schools right?” 

Ruby nodded, a soft smile touching her lips. “Yeah, I’ve been applying. I really hope I either get into Perdue or Notre Dame. I mean I don’t know what my chances are, but I think it’d be cool.” Ruby said sheepishly.

“Awh baby girl, you could do anything you set your mind too.” Her dad encouraged her. He wanted to see her fulfill her dreams, no matter what they were. 

It was at that point that one of the waitresses wandered over. Ruby studied her for a moment, noting the woman’s name tag. “Hey aren't you Liv’s mom?” 

The woman blinked in confusion before something clicked into place. “Oh yeah, you know my daughter?”

“Yes, ma’am my name is Ruby,” Ruby said smiling.

Liv’s mom seemed to light up. “You’re her new friend, the one tutoring her. You helped get her on that trip for the colleges. Liv’s really been bringing her grades up, thank you.” 

Ruby nodded. “Liv’s been doing the heavy lifting, she just needed a little extra help. She’s intelligent and she deserves a chance to shine.” Ruby said, before gesturing to her dad. “This is my father.” 

The two adults shook hands while Ruby watched. Now that she saw her up close she could definitely see some of the similarities that Liv and her mother shared. "I was actually going to text Liv and ask if she could spend the night. My dad's going to have surgery soon and I don't want to be by myself." 

Liv's mom gave her a curious look. "There wouldn't be any other parental supervision?"

"My nana might be stopping by. I mean if you aren't comfortable with it, I totally understand." Ruby was aware of Liv's reputation as a partier, but she had learned not to trust all of the rumors that she heard. 

"If Liv would like to stay at your house, I don't see why that would be a problem. As long as it is okay with your parents, it's fine by me." Liv's mom replied. 

Ruby's dad gave a small nod. "I've met Liv, she's always welcome at our house." 

Ruby was excited by the prospect. "Thank you, Ma'am."

"Call me GiGi. I have a feeling I'll be seeing more of you Ruby, with how much Liv talks about you."

Ruby didn't say anything, but she doubted Liv would invite her over any time soon. Liv had made it clear she was a bit ashamed of the rundown apartment and Ruby didn't want to make her embarrassed. "Sounds good GiGi."


	10. chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter. 
> 
> Man let me just say I love Ruliv.

Ruby took a deep breath as she opened the door to her house, doing her best to plaster a fake smile over her features. She didn’t want any of her friends to know that she was lowkey freaking out about her dad. He was in surgery at the moment and her mom was at his side. Hopefully, if things went well, he wouldn’t be in pain any longer and would finally escape the fate of being bedridden most of the time.

Charlotte, Sarah, and Liv were already on her porch. They had come armed with snacks and a bunch of movies for them to binge-watch. As nervous as Ruby was feeling, she was glad that the trio had shown up. She probably would have been a nervous wreck by herself. Not that she'd admit it out loud but that was one of her biggest fears, something happening to her family and her being by herself. 

“Hey, guys.” She greeted warmly, trying to keep her voice steady. Thankfully none of the other girls seemed to call her on the slight quiver in her voice. “Come on in, and make yourselves at home.” She stepped back to allow them into her home, Ruby's mom had insisted on making sure it was clean before any of their company came over. 

“We brought snacks, hope that’s okay,” Liv said, holding up a small bag of jolly ranchers, gummy bears, fruit chews, and the sour straws. She had gotten the blue sour straws because she knew that they were Ruby’s favorites. 

Charlotte chuckled quietly. “Liv made us raid the candy store, she said we couldn’t show up empty-handed to a sleepover that it was bad form. God, she reminds me of Bayley's friend Becky.” 

Liv huffed a little bit. "Showing up empty-handed to a party is always bad form. You should know this Flair." Liv said sticking out her tongue at the taller blonde. Her tongue was already a nice shade of blue from the candy.

“I can’t remember the last time I got invited over to a sleepover. My papaw used to say that sleepovers were for special holidays where you’d camp out with your cousins.” Sarah looked around their little makeshift group. “You guys are close enough to my family I suppose.” 

Ruby had to blink away the tears that were starting to gather in the corner of her eyes. She didn’t want to cry in front of them, because that would for sure be super embarrassing. “Come on, I have some pizza in the oven.” She mused, desperate for a subject change. 

The other girls seemed content to let the conversation shift. Everyone could sense that Ruby was struggling with anxiety and just wanted to prove with their actions that they were going to be there for their best friend. As the saying went, actions spoke louder than words anyways. 

Charlotte and Sarah made themselves at home on the couch, while Liv followed Ruby into the kitchen to help with the pizza. Liv watched as Ruby tried to busy herself by grabbing the different plates and supplies. Finally, Liv’s hand shot out and she grabbed Ruby by the wrist and just yanked her taller friend into a hug. More than anything else, she felt like Ruby needed to just be held and told that it was going to be okay. 

Ruby stiffened at the sudden hug, but then almost immediately melted into Liv’s arms. She hadn’t realized just how badly she was craving somebody to just hold her. Ruby was trying to be strong for her mom and her dad, but deep down she was worried. She didn't even notice she was crying until she felt Liv carefully and tenderly wiping away her tears. 

"It's going to be okay Ruby, your dad is tough. I have a feeling he is where you inherited your stubbornness." Liv said, pulling back to look her friend in the eyes. 

Ruby playfully pouted at her. "I am not stubborn. I am the least stubborn person that I know," She protested.

Liv rolled her eyes and let out a groan. "You're full of crap Prange," Liv said tapping Ruby on the nose. "Look no matter what happens, I got you okay. We'll make it through whatever comes your way." 

Managing a watery smile, Ruby pulled her friend back into her arms and just held her tightly. She knew for a fact that Liv had gone through a lot of crap in her life, but the fact that the blonde was still standing was a testament to how strong she was. 

"Thank you for being here for me Liv. It really means more to me than I can even say." 

Liv shrugged her shoulders and waved off Ruby's praise. "It's what friends do for each other. I have your back and you have mine. We're two peas in a pod or something like it." 

Ruby gave her a light push. "Go sit down with the others, I'll bring the pizza out." 

"Whatever you say, Rue Rue." Liv gave her one last hug before walking out to the living room and plopping down between Charlotte and Sarah. 

"Hey Liv, does your work still work at the diner downtown?" Charlotte asked quizzically. 

Liv raised a brow and nodded. "Yeah she does, why the question?" She asked. 

"Well my dad is going to be opening up a restaurant soon, and he needs some staff that knows what they're doing. I could see if he'd give her an interview, he needs managers." Charlotte explained, keeping eye contact with Liv. She didn't want the blonde to feel like she was being pitied.

Sarah nudged Liv’s side. “That would be a great opportunity for your mom dude.” Sarah had seen first hand how much Liv’s mom struggled to put food on the table and keep the lights on. 

"Is it like a high-end restaurant?" Liv wasn't sure her mom actually owned many fancy outfits. She didn't want her mother to get made fun of. 

"I think it would be decently high-end, but my dad tends to try and make places affordable. I think even if he brought your mom in as a manager and like maybe as a mentor for the other waitresses, it would be good." Charlotte wanted the best for Liv. She knew the girl would not be thrilled about a handout, so she was trying instead to give her family a hand up instead. 

"Okay, I'll mention the opportunity to her and get back to you," Liv promised, as Ruby walked into the room carrying the slices of pizza. Liv was trying to imagine a world where her family wasn't being crammed into a too-small apartment, and where they didn't have to worry about the utilities being shut off. It broke Liv's heart to see her mom always struggling and spinning her wheels without getting anywhere. 

Ruby plopped down on the floor, passing them their pizza. "Liv, why don't you go ahead and pick the first movie." She suggested. There was a warm look in her eyes as she regarded her friends. She was feeling a little bit better after their conversation earlier. 

\-------

-Later that night-

Liv woke up to the sound of Sarah snoring, and Charlotte talking in her sleep. It would have been funnier if Liv wasn't as tired as she was. They had stayed up to after midnight watching movies, Charlotte and Sarah were both stretched out on the couches. Liv was curled up on Ruby's bed, while her friend was apparently nowhere to be seen. 

Carefully, she pushed back the covers and stretched as she looked around. She couldn't see Ruby anywhere in the room. Liv rolled out of Ruby's bed and began to go look for her best friend. She could hear the distant sound of rain falling and as she made her way to the family room, she finally found Ruby sitting near a window. The other teenager was curled up tightly in a ball, her chin resting on her knees as she watched the storm brewing outside. 

"Why are you awake?" Ruby asked, so quietly Liv wasn't even sure the other girl had asked anything. 

"Couldn't sleep, my cuddle buddy was gone." Liv supplied. She grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and walked over to Ruby, draping it over her shoulders. "What's got you all mopey?"

"I am not mopey, just couldn't sleep either. My mom called." Ruby explained, scooting forward so Liv could sit behind her on the window seat. 

Liv wrapped her arms around Ruby, pulling the taller girl back, so she could hold and comfort her. "What did she have to say?"

"My dad is doing fine. He made it through surgery and it was successful." Ruby sighed, relaxing back into Liv's embrace. Normally with her family, Ruby tried to act strong but it was nice to just be comforted for once. "He's going to get to see me graduate and go to college." 

"I am happy for both of you. Your dad is a good man." Liv mused, playing with Ruby's hair. She could feel some of the stress and tension slowly leaving Ruby's body. "Charlotte was telling me that her dad's opening a new restaurant. She thinks my mom would be a good fit. It'd be nice to see my mom more often, where she doesn't have to struggle and break her back working multiple jobs and shifts." 

Ruby closed her eyes, a soft chuckle escaping her. "Your mom would do great no matter what. I think you're a lot like her, you work hard." 

"The whole reason I want to go to college is so that I can make something of myself and help her," Liv explained, knowing of all people that Ruby would understand. "I want to be smart enough to get a high paying job so that someday I can buy her a house or a better apartment. I want to see her thrive." 

"Well, I believe you're going to do it. We'll go to college and when we succeed, we'll help our parents. We can do this... together." Ruby replied, her voice growing sleepy, as Liv's fingers kept combing through her hair and lightly scraping over her scalp. It was pulling her back into a peaceful state, her anxieties didn't feel as strong. 

Liv cracked a genuine smile as she felt Ruby relaxing. In the whole time of the two of them being friends, Ruby had always been tightly wound. It was like the older teenager was scared to relax because it might cause something catastrophic to happen. It meant a lot to Liv that Ruby trusted her enough to let her guard down. 

"I don't think I could have made it this far without you." Liv mused, dropping a kiss to the top of her friend's head. "You might have made a crappy first impression, but you made up for it." 

Ruby grumbled something about Liv being too popular, but it was clear she was on her way back to being asleep. Liv just laughed and held her close. "When we get to college, we're gonna make a difference. I can feel it. Go to sleep Rue, I got you." Liv whispered until Ruby was once again asleep. 

Liv's gaze traveled out to the rain that was falling outside. She hadn't expected to ever graduate high school or to make friends with somebody as smart as Ruby but she was glad that she had. All of the preconceived notions she had about the other girl had been wrong. Liv truly hoped that their friendship would be the kind that lasted a lifetime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story and their friendship is like everything to me. If it isn't clear, let me just say that they get a happy ending. These two idiots are going to college, where they're gonna excel and be rich enough to take care of their families. And they are gonna be happy for the rest of forever. 
> 
> Soulmates are soulmates no matter what form they take.


End file.
